Conference Support: Dendritic Computation
Abstract
Statement of objectives: Our goal is to carefully examine one critical aspect of brain computation: dendritic integrations. Most mammalian neurons receive thousands of excitatory and inhibitory inputs through their dendritic branches and spines and integrate them electrically into a single output which gets transmitted as action potentials to the next layer of neurons for another round of integration and processing. While everyone would agree that this is indeed a central problem to understand how single neurons compute, there is a multitude of diverse and contradictory theories as to how it happens, in spite of sustain work by many laboratories for the last two decades. Even the simple basic phenomenon of input integration by dendritic spines is not yet understood. Part of the problem is one of methods: traditional techniques to electrical probe the function of dendrites and spines are quite limited, given the challenge that these structures are very small, and sometimes less than a micron in diameter. In addition, theoretical models of the electrical properties of spines and dendrites are also inadequate, since they are based on macroscopic cable theory, which was developed for large electrical wires where there are no changes in ionic concentration but ignore the interactions between electric fields and ionic gradients that occur in biological nanocompartments and result in electrodiffusion. Methods to be employed: We propose a high caliber international meeting that will include the worlds expert in dendritic computation, to examine the key questions and challenges of this field while at the same time paying close attention to the development of new methods and experimental and theoretical tools. This meeting could launch a new wave of research in this critical area of neuroscience, and push through the experimental challenges to arrive at a first understanding of how neurons compute. We expect that this meeting will have a major impact in neuroscience and also potentially in computer science and machine intelligence. Significance of the proposed activity to the advancement of knowledge or education: This meeting could serve to review and launch new directions of research in this critical area of neuroscience, and push through the experimental challenges to arrive at a first understanding of how neural circuits compute. We expect that this meeting will have a major impact in neuroscience, neurology and psychiatry and also potentially in computer science and machine intelligence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 22, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1810131
Entities
People
- Rafael Yuste
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Columbia University
- United States Army